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A. S. GADKARI
Ramchandra Thangappan Aachari – Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra – Respondent
JUDGMENT
1. Appellant has questioned correctness of the Judgment and Order dtd. 19/6/2019 passed in POCSO Special Case No.429 of 2017 by the learned Special Judge, Greater Mumbai, convicting and sentencing Appellant under Ss. 4, 6 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012 (for short "POCSO Act") and sentenced him to suffer maximum rigorous imprisonment of ten years and to pay a total fine of Rs.30,000.00 (Rupees Thirty Thousand Only), in default of payment of fine to further undergo specified period of imprisonment.
2. Heard Mr. Bapat, learned Advocate appointed by the High Court Legal Services Committee, Mumbai to represent the Appellant, Ms. Chavhan, learned Advocate appointed by High Court Legal Services Committee, Mumbai to represent Respondent No.2 (victim) and Mr. Pethe, learned APP for Respondent No.1-State. Perused entire record.
3. As the victim was minor, aged about 15 years on the date of lodgement of crime, with a view to protect her identity and in-consonance with Sec. 228-A of the IPC and Sec. 33(7) of the POCSO Act, the facts disclosing her identity are hereinafter avoided in the present Judgment.
4. It is the prosecution case that, on 12/7/201
Reliability of age determination evidence crucial in establishing POCSO Act violations.
The duty of the prosecution to prove the victim was a child as per Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act and the reliance on medical reports and DNA evidence to establish the victim's age were central to the....
Point of Law : There was failure on the part of the prosecution to establish the essential foundational facts to attract the provision of POCSO Act.
It is well settled that ossification test or other medical test though is a guiding factor for determining age but it is not conclusive or incontrovertible and leaves a margin of error of two years o....
The court established that the prosecution must prove the victim's age as under 18 years to apply the provisions of the POCSO Act, and failure to do so results in the reversal of conviction.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of age determination in cases under the POCSO Act, emphasizing the need to establish foundational facts, including the proof of the ....
The court upheld the conviction under POCSO, establishing that the victim's age was proven beyond reasonable doubt despite defense arguments, emphasizing the burden of proof rests with the prosecutio....
The prosecution failed to establish the victim's age under POCSO Act, rendering the conviction invalid due to insufficient evidence and procedural errors.
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